OIC Welcomes Progress on Local Development Plan Guidance as NPF4 Adopted

Orkney Islands Council has welcomed the adoption of the Scottish Government’s National Planning Framework this week.

The National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) will guide planning decisions across Scotland for the next 10 years.

An original draft of the framework was published in November, with significant improvements made since then following feedback from the Heads of Planning Scotland, which Orkney Islands Council is part of.

Councillor David Dawson is Chair of the Council’s Development and Infrastructure Committee.  He said: “The work of our planning teams – both in development management and in development and marine planning -  will be significantly shaped by NPF4 and we welcome its adoption following lengthy delays. 

“The framework has a much stronger focus on supporting the development of renewable energy in Scotland than previous iterations of the document. This will be a key talking point as that debate continues locally.

“What we will particularly welcome is the follow-on publication of guidance and regulations on the drafting of Local Development Plans. This is expected to finally be laid before the Scottish Parliament in early March – allowing us to plan for and progress the long awaited review of our Local Development Plan.”

Hayley Green is the Council’s Corporate Director for Neighbourhood Services.  She said: “The Scottish Government are expecting that all local authorities will have a new style local development plan in place within 5 years of the new development planning regulations coming into force. 

“With the guidance around this expected to become much clearer in the Spring, my team will be starting on a huge piece of work to first set out a development plan scheme or action plan – and then getting underway with the work itself which will involve a significant amount of public consultation, which will build on the Orkney Matters work carried out over the last few years"

The framework has been developed with six key principles in mind, namely:

• Just transition - empowering people to shape their places and ensure the transition to net zero is fair and inclusive.
• Conserving and recycling assets - making productive use of existing buildings, places, infrastructure and services, locking in carbon, minimising waste, and building a circular economy.
• Local living - supporting local liveability and improving community health and wellbeing by ensuring people can easily access services, greenspace, learning, work and leisure locally.
• Compact urban growth - limiting urban expansion to optimise the use of land to provide services and resources, including carbon storage, flood risk management, blue and green infrastructure and biodiversity.
• Rebalanced development – targeting development to create opportunities for communities and investment in areas of past decline, and managing development sustainably in areas of high demand.
• Rural revitalisation – encouraging sustainable development in rural areas, recognising the need to grow and support urban and rural communities together

The full document is available at  - https://www.transformingplanning.scot/national-planning-framework/approved-npf4/